Companion piece for reading along with Almost Bluing for X-tra Whiteness (easter eggs noted)

 After I talked with Eliz McKim about my new poetry book Almost Bluing for X-tra Whiteness she was amused at some of the references, but most of them were obscure Easter Eggs, so allow me to fill in some of the blanks. Below is the Table of Contents and a comment, video or link for each one. When you read the book, read the part of the blog before each of the poems.

 So let's start with poem 1, page 9

I Didn’t want to call the 988 Operator Using the movie Don't Look Up as metaphor. There is even a line in the poem about the broteroc mentioned in the trailer below. 

I wished myself extinct / like that bronteroc,

Dependents 

What Cannot Be Fixed 

 After You Go 

 Dogged Years 

These  four are poems about my late MOTHER and FATHER

The next eight (8) are poems about a relationship ending. Comments withheld. 

Labor Day at the Border Cafe 

I Look For You 

Three New Year’s 

Mostly, there are nightmares 

1/1 

reply to someone who no longer replies

 A Little Madness or Not at All

You Should Know

It Sunk : (the Titan submarine implosion)  

https://news.northeastern.edu/2023/06/23/oceangate-titan-submersible-implosion/

 Remember That Smile:  I remember, when I was a child, driving with my family while the trees on the side of the highway were ablaze. For years after that area looked like this, an image still stuck in my head

 

A Place Familiar 

the following lines can be recalled from the opening poem (page 9)

weeks later, at the farm/ we stayed at in Maryland,/ that was one of the good/  things from the year.

A Place Familiar describes the place. 

after David Berman II. Jeopardy question: Who is David Berman? A poet, musician and victim of a disease.  https://www.dallasobserver.com/music/the-world-lost-a-genius-2-years-ago-when-it-became-too-much-for-david-berman-12185442

Reflections: A 17 year-old Drug Addict Forty Years Later  Years https://www.oprah.com/spirit/confessions-of-a-shoplifter-reasons-people-steal/all Click the link and read why I might shoplift ginger root.

How to Extinguish a Raging Fire   Interested in this one? Go back in early November posts in this blog for the last 14 years about my recovery. This is a recovery poem. 

 reply to someone who said, “there’s a lot of selfish going around here.”  I write a lot of "reply" poems. There is one earlier in this book. In this one I don't remember who I might have been replying to. 

Tennessee Songbirds: True story about real birds and musicians in Nashville 

 

Not Just the Willows Weep https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/north-shore-communities-recovering-after-storm/3246270/

 Found in a Basement in Dorchester: Here's the obituary for my friend Sean. The obit left out a few things. Also, I found out about this too late to attend the funeral. 2022 was a rough year.  https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/sean-whelan-obituary?id=36927109

 

The Definition of Abuse is all about power dynamics in our culture. 

 

Poetry Found on Twitter These are exact twitter posts from the accounts of: 

1) Lauren Boebert—On Another Shooting. 2) Michelle Obama—On Knitting. 3) Melania Trump—On Christmas Ornaments being NFTs. 4) Marjorie Taylor Greene—Saying Stupid as Fuck Things 5) Amanda Knox—On Losing Control 6) Margaret Atwood—On New Year’s Day

There are some good guys and bad guys in this poem .

 Rainy Days and Every Day Always Get… My mom used to listen to this. Side note from video: I don't think he's playing the harmonica---he's playing his f-ing hand. 

 Valentine’s Poem written in the style of Eliz McKim. She picked  up that the poem sounded like a heartbeat. 

 Picturing One Great Love  Kind of like the guy pictured below, but sometimes you get to finish the work, and sometimes you don't. 

 

Flashbulb of a Lightning Storm. About making love in the middle of a lightning storm. It happened. 

 Into the Silent Sea: This was written about the same time as It Sunk. Processing sea-creatures and hopelessness. 

 

Amends I Owed You Step Nine in recovery https://sober.com/step-9-tips/ and using music as metaphor

Love – 0 When an electric tennis racket bug zapper is a swing and a miss

 

Addendum is and addendum to Amends I Owed You, but more punny and awkward (like some ammends)  than serious. 

 Acceptance Poem The Acceptance Prayer helps me a great deal

Fluid behind the Ear Poem dedicated to Lisa Haley (oh, the other Lisa)

 Animals Which Don’t Sleep Grief and sleep problems the following line within Instead of saying goodbye you said, /“I’m sorry,” and refuse to lie down

 Standing Wave  and

 Star Island, Night One, 2024 

These next two were written for and about Star Island. The second was nominated for a Pushcart. Star inspires as these didn't need much revision.

The final section of the book is lighter, perhaps funnier poems

Abecedarius  This is a form poem, the form being 26 words in the poem, using all 26 letters in alphabetical order. 

 Out and In the Void for Jeremy Hilary Boob Google Jeremy Hilary Boob and then the lyrics to that song the search points to. The poem is all synonyms to each/most words of those lyrics.

 Almost Famous Massachusetts has the record for total number of Roast Beef joints that are famous but in name only. 

 Literary Action Figures Imagine if famous authors had action figures like star athletes or GI Joe. Wait...maybe?

 

On Dodo Oh My God. Want to go on a heartwarming trip? Of course, you do. Careful, you may get sucked into The Dodo rabbit hole for half the day. So this poem looks at Dodo and how it differs from those other feelings in real life. 

 Poem About Jon Wesick, written in the style of Jon Wesick; During the pandemic, writer Jon Wesick was on nearly every zoom reading and open mic. He had a series writing in the style of some of the other poets. I decided to do one on him. 

 Recipe Dumb-Ass Men Cook to Feed Women : A misandry poem from a man noting how men are obvious and stupid in their manipulations. 

 Poem Stolen from Other Poets at Dinner Yes...it's a found poem staring the dialog of many of my friends. 

 Found poem within the rules of the board game Mystery Date : It pretty much uses the game rules verbatim. It was written for the game night event for the Improbable Places Poetry Tour.

 Petition to Remove the Word Burble from our language Such a harsh sounding word.

 

Things You Find in Miami Beach (Poetry Form: 25,000 Pyramid) So I've invented a form. The poem reads like the clues given in the bonus round of the 25,000 Pyramid game show.